When A Butterfly Beats Its Wings
by AssortedFudge
Summary: "SLYTHERIN!" - One little word from the Sorting Hat can change so much…
1. The Sorting

_**When A Butterfly Beats Its Wings**_

_This is my first story, meaning there will probably be mistakes... I guess they don't matter so much seeing as this is an AU fic but I'll do my best anyway :P Basic summary of the story as I've planned it so far: In September 1971, Sirius Black was sorted into Slytherin, as opposed to Gryffindor. This one little change triggers a whole series of different events, ones that are hopefully worth reading! So enjoy..._

_Just a quick chapter to begin with._

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><p>The Great Hall was almost exactly how he'd pictured it; his excitement over finally getting to attend Hogwarts had been overwhelming over the summer, resulting in much teasing from his elder cousins who were already in attendance at the famous school. Sirius had spent much of their time together pestering them for information.<p>

As the new set of First Years headed up to the front of the Hall behind the Professor, his father's disapproving, cold grey eyes appeared in the forefront of his mind once again, making him eye the Sorting Hat with a feeling of dread. As much as Sirius may disagree with the rest of the Black family on matters of blood purity and its importance in the wizarding society, he still bizarrely felt a sense of duty to the old man. He knew that if that tattered and dirty Hat called out any other house apart from Slytherin, he'd be letting him down. Worse than that, he'd be embarrassing him.

It was a heavy weight on the shoulders of the eleven year old.

"Black, Sirius!"

His eyes fixed on the hat as he made his way through the crowd and up to sit on the stool, his heart beating loudly in his chest. As the hat was lowered onto his head, he caught sight of his cousins sitting at the table he knew he should be joining shortly, Bellatrix eyeing him suspiciously as usual, while Andromeda seemed expressionless. Cissy looked eager.

Sirius jumped as a voice sounded in his head, one that definitely wasn't his own.

_"Another Black, eh? Hmm, a little trickier than the last few I'll say. A very conflicted young man I see."_

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><p>Narcissa leant over to her elder sister and whispered, "It's taking a while..."<p>

Andromeda glanced at her and nodded, "I know. But don't worry, he's a Black. He'll be sitting with us shortly."

Inside though, she was starting to get a little nervous, every member of the Black family attending Hogwarts had been called for Slytherin almost immediately. But then, this was Sirius.

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><p>He was starting to sweat, small beads of perspiration were beginning to form on his forehead as the Hat continued its debate.<p>

_"Your bravery would be most suited for Gryffindor, but I can sense a darkness calling within you, one that you want, no, need to answer. Hmm..."_

"Will you just pick already?" Sirius muttered through gritted teeth, his dark unruly hair falling in front of his eyes. "Just put me in Slytherin and get this over with."

_"Very well, if you insist... _SLYTHERIN!"

The table furthest to his right erupted in cheers at getting yet another member of the elite family as Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and sauntered over to a spare seat near Andromeda who threw him a smile.

"Well done. You just saved yourself a hell of a lot of trouble."

He nodded and turned his eyes back to the sorting. As it progressed, he thought back to the words he'd heard in his head just a moment ago. _A darkness calling within you..._ He couldn't seem to shake off the sense of uneasiness that fell upon him at hearing those words again.

"Potter, James!"

Sirius looked up and met his eyes, there was a brief pause then... "GRYFFINDOR!"

Cheering erupted on the other side of the hall this time, as the boy grinned and walked towards his new housemates, while Sirius felt a brief flash of... disappointment? Shaking his head he turned his attentions away from the sorting, wondering when the food would be served. He was starving.

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><p><em>I know, I know, a bit slow but I'm just setting it up for the good stuff ;)<em>


	2. The Feast

_I just want people reading this to know that I am accepting suggestions for any AU ideas they want to see happen relating to Sirius being a Slytherin. Not saying I'll write about them, but I'll definitely think about them :)_

_As you can see from the interactions between certain characters, butterfly wings don't affect everything! lol_

_Thanks to all the reviewers so far!_

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><p>Sirius got his wish just a few minutes later, the rest of the sorting went by relatively quickly with 5 more students joining the Slytherin table, one of whom sat himself down next to Sirius. The latter only afforded him a quick, disgusted glance, taking in his dark greasy hair and pallid complexion. Yeah, he was a Slytherin alright. You only needed to look once to see that. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Sirius turned his attention back to the food, hurriedly piling more and more onto his plate.<p>

Halfway through stuffing his face with a chicken drumstick, he looked up to find the Potter boy staring at him again. As he noticed Sirius look up and meet his eyes, he didn't look away, instead he offered another grin before turning to listen to the conversation of the two boys seated to his right. Sirius frowned. He was a weird one. Definitely a Gryffindor. The two had exchanged words briefly back on the train, he couldn't even remember what it was about now and he had seemed friendly enough, maybe someone he could even have become friends with, given the right opportunities. Giving a sidelong glance to the greasy boy next to him, he felt that stab of disappointment and longing again, at the thought that this was who he was likely to spend the next 7 years "befriending". He snorted, attracting some strange looks from the students sat nearby which he didn't notice. He'd rather hang out with the Hufflepuffs.

Leaning over the girl on the other side of him to get the roast potatoes, he earned a sharp shove and a snapped, "Didn't your mother ever teach you table manners?"

Shrugging as he leant over to grab the bowl, he replied, "Dunno. Stopped listening to the harpie once I turned 3."

"Sirius!" Narcissa looked shocked at his blatant disrespect while Andromeda hid a smile. Clearly it was going to take more than just being sorted into the correct house to fully tame her rebellious cousin.

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><p>Stuffing potatoes into his mouth Sirius mumbled, "So... what's your name?"<p>

She looked disgusted as bits of potato were sprayed over the table. "Urgh... Abigail Nighthew."

The name attracted the attention of the blonde 7th year sitting with Narcissa Black. With a small smirk, Lucius spoke up, "A relation of Arman Nighthew, I presume?"

Sirius caught a flash of what looked like fear in her hazel eyes, Lucius noticed it as well and his smirk increased. "Yes, quite a respectable pureblood family." He waited until he saw her shoulders relax then added with a spiteful glint in his eye, "At least, they _were._ Your mother's a muggle, correct? Quite the scandal."

All eyes were on Abigail as her face reddened and she struggled to hold back tears. Watching the exchange, Sirius could feel indignation building up inside him at the shameless taunting, as well as the sniggers and judging looks from the others at the table.

"Back off, Malfoy," he warned. He meant to sound intimidating but as everyone turned to see who had dared try and order a Malfoy, his voice shook a little much to his irritation.

Abigail was looking at him as well now, clearly shocked at the intervention from the ill-mannered, scruffy boy sat next to her.

Lucius let his eyes wander up and down Sirius, as if trying to gauge whether he was a serious enough threat to respond to or not. Decision made, he gave a cold smile. "What a shame your cousin's upbringing wasn't as ... refined as yours, Cissy."

Narcissa blushed and glared at Sirius who glared straight back at her. "Don't take him seriously, Lucius. Clearly the excitement of the night has gone to his head."

Sirius gave an undignified snort and went back to his dinner and, slowly, conversations started to resume.

"Thanks," Abigail murmured, not looking him in the eye.

He shrugged. "Don't mention it. Could you pass the potatoes?"

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><p>Along with the rest of the First Years, Sirius tried hard to keep the awe off his face, preferring to look cool and casual and, along with the rest of the First Years, he failed. They came to a stop in the middle of the common room (Sirius was still majorly impressed with staying in the dungeons), where the bored looking Prefect who hadn't bothered to give his name spoke: "Girls dorms to the left, boys to the right. I don't care if you're gonna sneak into each others, just don't get caught otherwise I'll need to act like I give a damn."<p>

A boy behind Sirius snickered, attracting the glare of the Prefect he quickly masked it as a cough.

"Right now thats over, piss off to your dorms, we don't like having First Years cluttering up the Common Room."

Eager to find out where he'd be staying for the next 7 years, Sirius followed the rest of the Slytherin boys to the right, quickly realising with a look of disgust that he was sharing a room with the greasy haired boy who'd sat next to him at the feast, along with the boy who had laughed down in the common room. A couple of other boys he recognised from the sorting but didn't know also wandered into the room behind him as he claimed the bed next to the window. Flopping down onto it, he noted with relief that it wasn't too uncomfortable; not that that would be a good thing when it came to getting out of it in the morning considering how lazy he could be. Looking up at the green curtains hanging round the bed, he let out a sigh. Things were about to get interesting.

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><p><em>TBC... ;)<em>


	3. Lessons

_Again, thanks to the reviewers and the people who've added the story to their Alert/Favourites list, it means a lot that people like it :)_

_To "Me", lol you ask a lot of questions! You'll need to wait a little while longer yet to see any more from James :P_

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><p>First class of the year was the one Sirius had been looking forward to the least: Potions. As seemed to be usual, Slytherin and Gryffindor were taking the class together and the occupants of the classroom were clearly segregated, Gryffindors sat to the right, the Slytherins to the left.<p>

There was however one exception.

Sirius could see out of the corner of his eye the furtive, suspicious glances he was getting from the Gryffindors around him. Turning up the last one to the class had left him with no option but to sit in the last remaining seat - on the right side of the room.

"Perfect," he muttered darkly dropping his textbook down on the desk with a loud thump earning a glare from the fiery haired girl sitting on the chair next to him.

"Yeah I'm not thrilled about it either," she snapped, turning her attentions back to the book she had already started pouring over.

"Class hasn't started yet," he pointed out. "No need to show off to the professor by pretending to be actually interested."

Her green eyes stared straight into his grey ones as she replied hotly, "Although it may not have occurred to _you_, some people _are_ interested in the world around them."

Raising his eyebrows, he replied, "Touchy! Alright, alright go back to your reading then." Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "Girls!"

Thirty minutes later, his attitude was very different. The girl, Evans he was sure her name was, pointedly ignored his whispered pleas for help as the Potions Master began moving around the class, checking each student's cauldron to see how their potions were coming along. Siruis looked at his with despair, what was meant to be a lime green concoction had turned purple and absolutely stank.

"Evans, come on! How do I fix this?" he muttered.

She shook her head, hiding a smirk. "Maybe you should try "showing off" sometime."

He sneered at her and had to quickly straighten his face as Slughorn eventually stopped by his desk.

"You've added too much powdered newt spleen, Black," he said, his nose wrinkling as the rancid smell reached him. Waving his wand, the cauldron instantly emptied and he ordered, "Start again if you please."

Moving towards the next desk, clearly expecting the same result, Slughorn instead looked surprised as he peered into her cauldron and saw a near perfect potion simmering gently. "Excellent, Evans! Yes, very well done. Five points to Gryffindor."

She beamed and shot a quick glance at Sirius before replying, "Thank you, sir."

"Teacher's pet," he muttered.

"Idiot," she shot back.

Charms at least went a little better, he managed to get to the class on time and ended up sitting next to one of his roommates, Avery, who as expected from the impression Sirius had of him already turned out to be a complete idiot.

"Saw you sitting next to that mud blood in potions," he said with a cackle. "You didn't catch anything did you?"

Sirius didn't answer, concentrating on trying to get the words of the spell exactly right. It didn't deter Avery from continuing.

"If it had been me, it would have demanded Slughorn to make her move. I wouldn't take the chance of any of her dirt rubbing off on me. My father says it's a disgrace they let the mud bloods mix in with us purebloods," he said with contempt. "He says they shouldn't even be allowed to attend Hogwarts, them not being proper wizards and witches after all."

It was a familiar argument to Sirius and he was growing more than a little tired of it. Looking over towards Evans who had of course already mastered the charm perfectly and then staring pointedly to Avery's failed attempts, he shrugged. "Whatever you say…"

The overtones were lost on Avery unfortunately, and he smirked. "My father was pleased to hear I was sharing a room with a Black."

"Was he," Sirius replied, not listening.

"Of course! It's important for the ancient pureblood families to stick together after all, and I didn't want to be sharing with any old ordinary student. Having Mulciber as well was a plus. Our fathers are old school friends you see…"

By the end of the lesson, Sirius was beginning to wish he was back next to Evans.

Lunch couldn't come quickly enough, and as Sirius got to work filling up his plate with everything in sight, a familiar blonde 7th year slid into the empty seat next to him.

"I thought we could have a little chat," Lucius murmured with the usual little smirk plastered on his face.

"What about?" Sirius replied eyeing him suspiciously.

"Your allegiances," came the immediate soft reply. "Your cousins are concerned for you, you don't seem to show the same… vehemence as the rest of your family on certain issues."

The younger boy scoffed and pushed his too-long hair out of his eyes. "My "allegiances" are none of your business, Malfoy."

Lucius chuckled, but there was no joy in it. He really gave Sirius the creeps, he edged away from him slightly. "Oh, on the contrary, Black." He leaned in closer. "If you'll take a friendly suggestion? Keep to your own kind."

Sirius looked into the distance for a moment, as if in deep thought. Turning to Lucius, his face serious he asked, "What about my owl?"

"What about it?" he asked, looking confused.

"Can I still use it? I mean, it's not one of my kind but I kinda rely on it to contact home. Though actually now that I say that, not having one may be a bonus."

Malfoy gave him a look of pure contempt as he rose and stalked out of the hall. Sirius grinned and shouted after him as he left, "What about a rat, Malfoy? Would that be more my kind? I need to know your opinion!"

Sniggering to himself he went back to eating his lunch, before a quiet voice across the table spoke up. "You should listen to what he says."

Looking up to see another of his roommates, Sirius glared at him and snapped, "Have a wash and then come back and see if I want your advice then, Snape." What was it with anyone and butting in with their opinions today?

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><p><em>Ahh he's such a charmer!<em>


	4. Flying

_Again, thanks to my lovely reviewers so far :) Without you I'd probably have given up after the first chapter. And not forgetting the people who added it to Alerts/Favourites, that's an ego-booster as well ha ha (and when you think about it, some free advertising for the stories for people who check profiles...)_

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><p>"Up!"<p>

Sirius grinned as the ratty old broomstick shot straight up into his outstretched hand on the first attempt. Looking around, his grin faltered as he saw one of the Gryffindors had managed it a split second before him.

"Well done, Mr Potter! And Mr Black! Excellent, boys!"

James looked up upon hearing the other boy's name and his proud grin also lessened slightly. Determination set in both their eyes as they eventually looked away from each other. Sirius was quietly seething, _no one_ was going to beat him at flying this year. Unbeknownst to him, James was thinking exactly the same as he waited impatiently for the rest of the class to catch up. Flying was one subject he knew he was going to excel in before he even started at Hogwarts, and no way a _Slytherin _was going to prove him wrong!

"Alright," Professor Dawkins announced, seeing that most of the students had successfully managed to call their brooms up. "Now, mount your brooms, make sure you're keeping a tight grip."

Sirius followed the intructions and the simple exercises, but was itching to get to the actual flying part. From the looks of the students around him, he realised most of them had probably never flown a broom in their lives, because of either over protective or Muggle parents. Thankfully he didn't fall into that category, he was dying to show off what he could do.

Unfortunately someone beat him to it.

Seeing the Professor turn her back and make her way down to the other end of the field where the rest of the class were standing, James whistled, attracting the surrounding students' attention. Kicking off from the ground, he zoomed off into the sky, earning the surprised gasps from the other kids. Sirius glared up at the Gryffindor student as he started flying higher then swooping down suddenly, pulling up just before he was about to hit the ground and hovering with a huge grin at the admiration of his classmates.

"How did you do that?" asked one girl.

"Do what?" Sirius scoffed pushing forwards. "If you want to see something that's actually impressive, watch this!"

Kicking off, he shot up, hurtling towards the sky at break neck speed. James crossed his arms and watched stonily, grudgingly impressed at the way the other boy could handle a broom, almost as well as him. _Almost._

Sirius got to what he deemed to be just the right height, smiled to himself, and jerked his broom upwards sharply - performing a perfect loop the loop.

"Mr Black, return to the ground _immediately_!"

The Professor's angry command broke through his pride and he gave a sigh as he slowly flew back down to the class, hopping off his broom a moment before it stopped completely.

"10 points from Slytherin and detention with me tonight, Black," she ordered. "You will remain on the ground for the rest of the lesson or regret it!"

"Yes, Professor," he muttered. He glanced over his shoulder at James and smirked. "Better luck next time, Potter."

He started walking away, pleased with himself despite the detention when he heard:

"Potter! Get back down here at once!"

Sirius whirled round and his mouth fell open as he saw James performing the same maneouvre - twice. Their eyes locked across the field as Dawkins launched into an angry tirade and Sirius smirked. _Game on._

"You will join Black in detention tonight, Potter, and ten points from Gryffindor!" she announced, glaring at both boys, neither of whom were paying much attention to her. Confiscating both brooms, she had to rush to help another student.

"What an idiot," came a scornful voice from over his shoulder. Sirius looked round to see Abigail looking over in disdain at the group of Gryffindors gathered around Potter. "Totally full of himself, with no reason to be. Typical Gryffindor."

He gave a non-committal grunt in response and stalked off, leaving her to stare after him in disappointment.

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><p><em>A bit shorter than the previous 2 chapters but it seemed an appropriate place to end. <em>


	5. Detention

_I don't own Harry Potter yada yada yada..._

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><p>The cold night air made Sirius shiver and pull his scarf up further, longing for the warm days of summer again. He made his way slowly towards the Quidditch pitch, not in any rush to get to his detention with Professor Dawkins and Potter. He could see lights moving around ahead of him indicating that he was the last to arrive. Sighing, he buried his hands in his pockets and trudged onwards.<p>

"Mr Black, you're late," Dawkins stated as he approached them, unimpressed. "Right, let's get to it. You both seem to like performing dangerous stunts on your brooms, so let's see you put that hobby to good use." She pointed to a wheelbarrow that looked full of pots of some kind. "The goal posts could do with a coat of paint, so, take a broom and get to work. _Without _magic, Potter," she reprimanded, seeing him reach for his wand.

At this, Sirius looked up at the huge posts, mouth open. "That would take hours!"

"You'd better get started then!" came the sharp reply. "I recommend starting from the top and working your way down... you wouldn't want to be flying that high when tired, now would you."

The boys groaned and grabbed a paint pot each.

"This is all your fault," Sirius muttered as they both mounted their brooms.

"How'd you figure that one out?" James grumbled, pushing off from the ground, finding it tricky to fly in a straight line and hold onto the paint pot at the same time. Sirius flew up beside him, having similar problems.

"If you hadn't been caught as well she wouldn't be this angry," he replied. They both neared the posts and hesitated.

"This is stupid, how are we meant to do this?" Sirius exclaimed. Grabbing the paintbrush out of his robe pocket, he glared it. "Never used one of these in my life!" He wrestled with the pot, trying to open it unsuccessfully, and let out a surprised yelp as he lost his balance. Automatically he grabbed the broom with both hands and both boys watched as the paint pot went crashing down to the pitch below... and smacked the unsuspecting Professor Dawkins straight on the head. To their horror, she collapsed in a crumpled heap.

"Shit, I've killed her!" Sirius yelled. "What do we do?"

"'_We_'? No, no, no, _you _dropped it - not me!" James retorted though he looked panicked as they both descended. Sirius jumped off his broom and ran to Dawkins, paling at the large bleeding gash on the top of her head.

"It looks bad... what do we do?"

"I see now why you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw," James snapped. "We need to get help!"

"Okay I got an idea..."

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><p>"Look out!" A group of Hufflepuff third years ducked out of the way shrieking as Sirius and James zoomed through the corridors, the unconscious professor balanced precariously across both their brooms. "Out of the way!" Sirius yelled, nearly crashing into another group of students who scattered immediately.<p>

"This was the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" James shouted across to him as they flew way too fast through the school.

"Take the next left!" Sirius replied.

"No it's straight on to get to the hospital wing!" James argued back.

"I know where I'm going, Potter! Turn left!"

"It's straight on!"

With both boys too stubborn to admit defeat, Sirius turned left sharply while James carried on - sending Dawkins flying off their brooms and onto the floor, where she eventually rolled to a stop. James pulled up and jumped off his broom to see Sirius flying back towards him.

"What did you do that for?" "I said turn left!" Both boys continued to argue over each other as a crowd began to gather around the woman on the floor. Professor McGonagall was the first teacher on the scene, not that they noticed as both students continued to argue, getting angrier and angrier.

"Amelia!" McGonagall gasped, seeing her colleague out cold and bleeding. Snapping back into "teacher mode", she announced to the gathered crowd of students, return to your dormitories please! I'm taking Professor Dawkins to the hospital wing, Jenkins," a fifth year Ravenclaw Prefect looked toward her expectantly, "Escort these two to my office please."

"Yes, Professor," she said, as the other pupils began drifting away. Turning towards Sirius and James, she ordered "Come on you two, let's move it." Sighing with exasperation as she realised they weren't paying any attention she swiftly grabbed ahold of one of their ears and towed them up the corridor.

"Ouch! Watch it!" Sirius yelped, wincing.

James had a similar expression on his face which was screwed up in pain as they were both marched up the corridor to McGonagalls office, other students stopping and laughing at them as they passed.

"This is all your fault!" he muttered.

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><p><em>So I was originally planning for them to start being civil to each other... but this seemed more fun. Stay tuned for the remaining Marauders and more from the Blacks!<em>


	6. Malfoy

_First (brief) appearance of Lupin, woo_

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><p>James wandered into the Gryffindor common room, his ears still ringing from the angry lecture he'd just gotten back in McGonagall's office, right before she'd made them redo the detention with her instead. Flopping down into an armchair by the fire, he rubbed his eyes and groaned, disturbing the sleeping boy in the chair opposite him. He sat up and stretched before clocking James. Grinning, Remus Lupin asked, "So detention with Dawkins went well then?"<p>

"Hmm... that's not the exact word I'd use to describe it," James replied mournfully. "Dawkins is in the hospital wing with possible brain damage, and I got another month's detention with _Black_." He said the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, causing Lupin to grin.

"Wow... 'well' definitely isn't the word to describe it then."

"Yeah." James looked round the common room absent mindedly, noting the lack of people. "Where is everyone?"

Remus snorted. "Bed probably, it's past 10."

"Seriously? I've been away for 3 hours?" came the astonished reply. "Merlin... McGonagall can't half talk! What are you still doing down here then?"

"Fell asleep doing my Charms essay," Remus replied with a shrug. Anyone taking a closer look would be able to see the dark circles under the boy's eyes, his pale complexion and the other general signs of exhaustion hanging around Lupin, but James being James he only shrugged and stood up.

"I'm off to bed, you coming?"

"Yeah, gimme a sec." Remus gathered up his homework and followed his friend back up the stairs to their dorm.

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><p>Meanwhile, down in the dungeons, a similar exchange was taking place in the Slytherin common room as Sirius finally stumbled inside, attracting the attentions of Abigail, Avery and Snape.<p>

"Heard about your incident in detention," Avery said with a snigger.

"It's not funny!" Abigail protested, looking at Sirius with a shocked expression. "I know Dawkins can be a pain, but trying to kill her? What were you thinking? Are you getting expelled?"

"I didn't 'try and kill her', I accidentally dropped a paint pot on her head," Sirius scoffed, remembering how news could get warped in the rumour mill. "And no I'm not getting expelled, just another month of detention."

"You got off lightly," Snape said throwing him a bitter look which Sirius ignored.

"I think we should get back to the dorms," Avery said looking at something over Snape's shoulder, a slight waver in his voice betraying his sudden nerves. Sirius followed his eyeline and his eyes hardened as Lucius Malfoy, flanked by two other thuggish seventh years, swaggered towards the group of first years. His cold eyes swept over them, settling on Abigail for a moment before his mouth twisted into a sneer.

"I see you chose not to listen to my advice, Black," Lucius said silkily, his eyes finally settling on Sirius. The prefect on his left, the one more resembling a troll as opposed to the gargoyle on the right, snarled at a scared Abigail, "Get out of here, mudblood!"

Snape visibly flinched, while tears sprang to Abigail's eyes. "I am _not_ a mudblood! My father is-"

"Your father is a blood traitor," Malfoy sneered. "Now run along, little girl, before something unpleasant happens to you."

Abigail looked at Avery who nearly broke his neck trying not to meet her eye. A far cry from the boy talking his ear off on the supposed importance of blood purity earlier, Sirius thought sourly. Sensing she wasn't getting any help there, her bright blue eyes turned pleadingly to Sirius.

"She has as much right to be here as you, Malfoy," he said quietly, trying to hold in his temper. He didn't need to add any more to his month's supply of detention if it could be helped.

"A halfblood has the same rights as a pureblood?" Malfoy replied, his voice low and dangerous. He tutted. "Someone has been neglecting their history."

"And someone else has been neglecting their touch on reality," Sirius countered. "Piss off, Malfoy."

The next thing Sirius saw was the stars in front of his eyes as he was picked up and thrown onto the floor, smacking his head forcefully on the cold stone. Malfoy smirked down at him as 'Gargoyle' move back to his side. Turning to the three gobsmacked first years, Malfoy asked, "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

Avery scrambled to his feet immediately and made a dash for the dorm, followed by Snape who hesitated, waiting for Abigail who was moving towards the fallen Sirius. Grabbing her arm, Snape said urgently, "Abigail, let's go."

Sirius winced as he pulled himself to his feet, his temper well and truly lost. He lunged at Malfoy.

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><p>Lily stared at the empty seat beside her in the next day's Potions class, torn between wondering where he was and just being satisfied with not having to put up with his rudeness for another hour. Her curiousity won out.<p>

"Sev," she whispered. Snape, sitting at the desk one across looked up questioningly and as she gestured to the empty chair next to her, his expression changed though she couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"Hospital wing," he hissed back as Slughorn strode into the room. "I'll tell you later."

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><p>"Well, Mr Black, you're making quite the impression so far."<p>

Sirius resisted the temptation to roll his eyes at Madam Pomfrey as she fussed round him. If he had a sickle for every time he'd heard that... The pain he was in had been numbed for the most part by the potion she had given him when he'd been dragged in by Abigail and a reluctant Snape the night before, thankfully. He was not looking forward to dinner at the Slytherin table tonight... Not that he was scared of Malfoy, of course. Just the embarrassment of being beaten so badly in a fight (even if it was one eleven year old against three sixteen year olds).

"You have permission to skip the rest of your classes for the day, now go and get some rest. I expect your head of house will want to have a word at some point as well," she said sternly.

Sirius sighed and heaved himself off the bed, grimacing as his injured muscles complained. Perking up as he realised, "Does this mean I don't need to do my detention tonight?"

"Don't push your luck!" she replied shortly, sweeping away.

"Figures," he grumbled, sloping out.

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><p><em>Ahh Malfoy. I didn't write the actual fight scene because I don't think what I wrote was in character, so there will probably be references to what actually happened in future chapters. Thanks for reading :)<em>

_PS, there will be pairings in later chapters as well and I haven't fully decided on them yet (though I've got a pretty good idea) so if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me._


	7. Thank You

_Chapter 7 and I'm really getting into this story! There are literally hundreds of people reading it and not reviewing it though! So once again, a big thanks to the minority that are, you make my day :) Esp. the people reviewing each chapter, that's dedication for you lol._

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><p>Abigail Nighthew was <em>not <em>scared of anyone. Her father had taught her that from a young age. To be scared of someone was to let them control you. And no one controlled a Nighthew. No one.

Unless, apparently, your last name happened to be Malfoy. The blonde Slytherin made her stomach turn, there was just something about him that frightened her, and the events of last night made her think that wasn't an altogether irrational response. She waited anxiously outside Madame Pomfrey's office, twisting her hands nervously. Hearing footsteps, her heart rate picked up considerably and she relaxed as Snape and a red haired Gryffindor rounded the corner, presumably on their way to Charms - the class she was meant to be in at the moment, also.

Severus paused, as he spotted the petite brunette hovering in the corridor and put two and two together. As much as he disliked the arrogant Black boy he felt a grudging modicum of respect for his actions the previous night, even if Snape privately thought they were also stupid. "He is no better then?"

She shrugged, trying to appear casual and failing miserably. "I don't know…"

Snape sighed and reluctantly offered, "Well there's no use hanging around here waiting for him to show up, walk with us to Charms. The class should take your mind off things."

Abigail managed a weak smile but shook her head. "No thanks, I'm just gonna head back to the common room. If Professor Flitwick asks, I'm not feeling well and went for a lie down."

Opening his mouth to argue that he wasn't her messenger boy, he saw the look Lily was giving him and nodded after a brief hesitation. "See you at dinner then."

The two other students continued on their way to class. Abigail waited a few more minutes then trudged back down to the dungeons. Snapping the password moodily, she walked into the common room and stopped short at the familiar form sprawled lazily across the couch.

"Black!" she said, her relief and surprise showing clearly both on her face and in her voice. His eyes opened and he offered up a small smile.

"Pleased to see me, Nighthew?" he said. His dark hair was messy and his robes crumpled and creased, but he was the best thing she'd seen all day.

She offered a tentative smile back while blushing at showing her emotions towards him so clearly. "Just glad you're still alive, I thought you were still down in the hospital wing."

"Nah, got kicked out earlier this morning," he replied with a stretch. "Been told to expect a visit from Slughorn later though."

"Oh lucky you," Abigail said, finally sitting down in a chair next to him. "So… are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," Sirius answered dismissively, it was only his ego that was still injured now. "Not the first time I've had my arse kicked and I doubt it'll be the last. Just need to learn how to pick my fights better, that's all."

"Malfoy showed up at breakfast with a cut lip if that makes you feel any better," she offered, settling back into the comfortable armchair. "And one of his goons had a black eye. So you at least got two punches in…"

"That makes me feel so much better," he said dryly. "Though considering how stupid they are, it wouldn't surprise me if they'd just missed me and hit each other by accident."

Minutes passed in silence before Abigail said softly, "Thank you."

He looked at her curiously for a moment then shrugged. "Don't mention it." It had truly been a pleasure managing to land that punch on Malfoy's face, finally managing to wipe the sneer from it at long last, if only temporarily. "Can't be easy being in Slytherin having a Muggle mother."

"Bit of an understatement," she snorted. "99% of the people in our house have the same attitude as Malfoy, so it's not like he's an isolated case."

He scratched the back of his head and replied, slightly awkwardly, "Well... just so's you know... I'm in that other 1%."

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><p>Stormy grey eyes surveyed the bustling entryway into the Great Hall that evening as the Hogwarts students began filing in for dinner. Locking on their target, their owner marched forward and grabbed her blonde sister from a group of fourth year girls. Narcissa squealed in surprise as she was dragged away from her friends to a quiet corner. Andromeda glared down at her.<p>

"Have you seen what Malfoy did to Sirius?" she demanded.

Narcissa scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Lucius said he got what was coming to him. He said-"

"I couldn't care less what your precious Lucius said!" Andromeda hissed. "Sirius is family. He's a _Black _and no one touches a Black and gets away with it, Cissy!"

"Is that so." The besotted expression crossing her sister's face confirmed who Andromeda suspected was now standing behind her and she groaned inwardly.

"Go for dinner, Cissy," Andromeda said quietly. Seeing she was about to argue, she said firmly, "Now."

Narcissa cast another look at Lucius then stormed into the Hall. Andromeda finally turned to see Lucius, alone for once. His eyes drifted slowly and indiscreetly down her body then back up to stare into her eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards into the signature Malfoy smirk.

"Was there something you wanted to say to me, Andromeda?" He said her name slowly as he took a step closer. She automatically took a step back and found herself pinned against the stone wall. Crossing her arms, she glared up at him, doing her best Bellatrix impression.

"Stay away from my family, Malfoy," she said through gritted teeth. "I mean it."

He chuckled. "I think Narcissa would have something to say about that... she seems to enjoy having me ... _very_ close by."

She clenched her fists, having to stop herself from copying Sirius and lunging at him. "Stay away... or you'll regret it."

"No, Andromeda, I won't," he replied with an insincere smile. He took another step closer to her and leaned forwards to whisper in her ear. "I said this to your cousin, and I'll say it again to you... make sure your loyalties lie with the right people. We wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea about _your_ views, now would we?" He stepped back and inclined his head. "Now I _suggest_ you get some dinner." Without waiting for her reply, he stalked into the hall.

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><p><em>Okay, I know it looks from how I've written him so far that I hate Lucius... I actually love him ha ha, I just like writing him as the slippery bad guy rather than the misunderstood romantic family guy (esp. seeing as he's not actually a family guy at this point, just an arrogant teenager). Felt the need to clear that up! The next few chapters are gonna be centred more round the Gryffindors I think, as well as more appearances from Abigail.<em>


	8. Breakfast

_Ahh an interestingly mixed reaction to the Abigail/Sirius pairing... Still not decided on the final pairings yet, but it won't be til a lot further into the story that anything "romantic" happens (not with Sirius anyway...)_

_Also, I actually took the time to re-read the previous chapters, and I definitely think the story had improved since the first one! I'm going to try and do them up a bit during the weekend, the story will stay the same I just think some bits aren't that well written and I noticed a few inconsistencies. So apologies for that!_

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><p>Breakfast: the most important meal of the day, so he'd been told at least. Sirius skewered a rasher of bacon on his fork and proceeded to stuff it into his mouth with a satisfied grunt.<p>

"How do they make this so good?" he asked Abigail, who was trying to do her Potions homework at the last minute without attracting the attention of any of the Prefects or Professors. She gave a distracted "dunno", before sighing and throwing her quill down. "It's hopeless. I am never going to be good at Potions so there is just no point in trying anymore."

"That's the spirit!" Sirius said, simultaneously chewing on yet another piece of bacon. "I decided that the day I bought the textbook."

Across the table, Snape glowered at him in disgust before offering softly, "I can help, if you want."

Abigail looked surprised at the offer but realising she didn't have much time left before the class started, she quickly passed her parchment over to him. "What am I doing wrong?"

Snape poured over the half written essay and quickly identified the main mistake early on, but Sirius had already tuned out of the conversation and was staring over at the Gryffindor table. He frowned, mid-chew, as his grey eyes settled on Potter sitting with some fat weasly looking kid in their year. He wasn't a threat. But Potter was a different story altogether. His eyes narrowed and he absent-mindedly speared the last sausage with his fork, still staring intently at Potter.

Peter looked nervously over to the Slytherin table and nudged James. "Why does he keep staring over here?"

James glanced up from his letter and instantly made eye contact with Black, who was savagely wolfing down a sausage. The eye contact was more than a little creepy after a few seconds… James glanced at Peter and shrugged. "Maybe he fancies you."

Peter turned scarlet and choked on his toast as James went back to reading his letter.

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><p>"Where the hell have you been?" James asked as Remus walked into Transfiguration, looking more exhausted than usual. James had missed his friend who had mysteriously disappeared after classes without a word of warning.<p>

Collapsing down into his seat, he replied shortly, "Had to go home for a family thing... nothing important. Did I miss much yesterday?"

James raised an eyebrow but didn't broach the subject any further, "Nah, don't think so."

"You fell asleep again didn't you?" Remus said, his tone both accusing and amused. "What am I meant to do then? Is it really that hard for you to stay awake for _one _lessson so I can copy your notes when I'm not here?"

"Alright put a sock in it," James replied, settling his head back down on the desk for another snooze despite his friend's words. "Ask Peter."

Remus looked across the class to see Peter in a similar position to James, but already snoring. "Merlin, I think he's actually dribbling," Remus replied in disbelief. "I don't know how you do it."

The girl beside him had come to a similar conclusion and had moved her chair as far away as possible, while occasionally throwing him looks of disgust. Remus chuckled, knowing Peter would be distraught when he woke up and realised he'd so thoroughly embarrassed himself in front of the girl he'd already decided to marry. She didn't know yet of course.

"Meadowes doesn't look too impressed."

"Meadowes never looks impressed," James mumbled. "Night..."

As his eyelids drifted shut, the tabby cat that had been sitting on McGonagall's desk jumped down and stalked towards their desk. Lupin noticed it out of the corner of his eye, just in time for it to leap up onto the unsuspecting James' desk causing him to let out a startled yelp and straighten up in record speed. The other students stopped their conversations and began to giggle as James scowled.

"Bloody cat, get down!" he instructed. The cat observed him for a moment and Remus could have sworn it was frowning. The realisation hit him suddenly and he bit his knuckle to keep from bursting out laughing as James tried to shoo their Professor off the desk.

"Uh, James..."

"What?" he asked, now engaged in some kind of staring contest with her. "This isn't Filch's cat, is it?"

Remus couldn't stop himself from sniggering as the cat turned and leaped from the desk, transforming mid-jump. James stared at McGonagall, mouth open in shock.

"No, Mr Potter, I can assure you I am not," she replied primly. "And I suggest you refrain from falling asleep again in my class, you are in more than enough trouble as it is."

He gulped. "Yes, Professor. How... How is Professor Dawkins?"

"Alive," she replied shortly and James looked away guiltily. The "_No thank to you" _that she clearly wanted to say hung heavily in the air for several uncomfortable moments before she swept up to the front of the classroom to address the rest of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff pupils. James breathed a sigh of relief and sneaked a glance at Peter. Still fast asleep.

"There's no justice in this world," he grumbled, picking up his quill to start taking notes. Beside him, Remus nodded. He couldn't agree with the statement more.

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><p>"I think I can literally feel my soul being destroyed," Sirius grumbled, more to himself than James. The two were sitting side-by-side in McGonagall's classroom, who had chosen a more traditional punishment for this particular detention: lines. His wrist ached and the pain was starting to spread up his arm, they'd been writing for more than two hours now. James groaned and dropped his quill on the desk for a moment as he tried to shake the pain out of his wrist and try and regain some feeling.<p>

"Tell me about it," he muttered. "I don't even know why I have to do the extra detention as well."

"Because, Potter, you are partly responsible for Professor Dawkins's injuries, as well as agreeing to a _particularly _stupid suggestion of flying your brooms through the corridors," McGonagall replied without looking up from her work. "Now, keep writing."

James rolled his eyes, but was secretly impressed she'd heard him, while Sirius scowled indignantly at her. It had seemed like a good idea at the time! A crash from outside made the professor look up, startled. She turned her eyes suspiciously on the two boys as she rose to her feet and swept towards the door.

"Do not move from your seats," she ordered sternly, "I shall return shortly."

"Yes, Professor," they chorused obediently (for once). As soon as she left the room, both dropped their quills back onto the desk again with a sigh of relief. Sirius massaged his wrist ruefully, praying to whatever gods there were that she would end the detention soon, before his hand fell off. He definitely wouldn't make the Quidditch team with one hand.

James turned in his seat to look at his fellow pupil. "I heard about what happened with Malfoy the other day..."

"Yeah? Good news travels fast," Sirius replied.

James frowned. "I don't get you, Black."

"Not many people do," Sirius said with a shrug.

Before James could elaborate, McGonagall re-entered the class muttering something about Peeves under her breath and both boys quickly resumed their punishment in silence.

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><p><em>Writing the breakfast scene made me laugh so much, I doubt it will amuse you guys as much but hey, just thought I'd let you know lol. Ted Tonks will be making an appearance in the next couple of chapters for anyone interested :P<em>


	9. Lover's Quarrells

The onset of winter could be clearly felt in Hogwarts as the school prepared for Halloween with its usual gusto. The frost covered grass crunched under Sirius's feet as he sauntered across the grounds, no particular destination in mind as he let his mind wander. He had to admit to himself, he was a little disappointed with his time at Hogwarts so far. He hadn't seen a single dragon, troll or any other dangerous creature! All he had were more lessons, rules, detentions… it was just another school really. He gave a fed-up sigh and kicked a nearby pebble hard, sending it flying into the Great Lake. His twelfth birthday had been and gone without much celebration. When were things gonna get exciting?

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><p>The Slytherin Quidditch team were in fine form as always; winning their match against Hufflepuff 90-30 before their seeker caught the snitch fairly easily. Down in the team's room, Andromeda slipped out unseen by the other celebrating players and crept swiftly down the corridor to the opposing team's area. He was already standing outside waiting for her as planned, a wide smile spreading across his face as he saw her. All she wanted to do was run to him, tell him all her problems and then watch him solve them one by one. But she settled for smiling back, even if it didn't quite meet her dark brown eyes.<p>

"Nice playing out there, Black," he joked running a hand through his sandy coloured hair, a nervous gesture she often teased him about.

"Coming from you that means a lot, Tonks," she countered with a smile of her own as she kissed him. "I just wish I could return the compliment."

He smiled ruefully, but as always his heartbeat began to speed up. "Yeah, me too… ah well, there's always the next game, eh? Plenty of time to get some more practice in."

"You're going to need a lot," Andromeda replied. "Hmm… speaking of getting some practice in…"

Ted raised his eyebrows and feigned shock. "Miss Black… you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting… are you? A respectable Pureblood lady such as yourself?" He realised the words were a mistake as soon as they left his stupid mouth. Maybe she'd let it pass seeing as she seemed to be in a good mood? Nah.

"You know what, forget it," she snapped, dropping the facade as she turned on her heel and marched away from the bemused Hufflepuff chaser, who started to chase after her out into the cold afternoon air.

"'Dromeda, come on, wait!" he pleaded. "You know I didn't mean it in a bad way! I was joking!"

Still mindful of who might see them, she turned to face him and dragged him into a secluded corner. "Ted, I have grown up with the Pureblood mentality my whole life, first at home with my family and now here in Slytherin, and…" she trailed off, struggling with how to put what she wanted to say to him, how they'd both be in possible danger if anyone found out about them. No, how _he_'d be in danger. "I don't care that you're a …"

"Mudblood," he supplied, no hint of venom in his voice. He said it matter-of-factly, like it was as if he heard it every day.

"Muggle born," she insisted. "I… love you. But you reminding me of my own blood status all the time… it's as if you _want_ me to remember that I should hate you like the other Slytherins. L-Like you _want _me to hate you."

"Whoa, whoa, 'Dromeda, you're reading way too much into a little joke," Ted said reaching out to hug her. She shied away.

"No, no I'm not, Ted. It's not 'a' little joke, you make digs like that all the time," Andromeda argued, starting to get worked up as she warmed to her argument. "It's as if _you_ are prejudiced against _me _because of my blood status!"

"Are you aware of how crazy you sound right now?" Ted asked, going into defence mode. "A mud blood dating a pureblood, yeah how bloody bigoted of me."

"Merlin, you make yourself sound like such a charity case!" she hissed.

Meanwhile, Sirius, having had enough fresh air, was just about to head back inside, thinking of the stash of Chocolate Frogs hidden in his trunk, when he heard the clear sounds of an argument from just round the corner. His curiosity piqued, and with nothing else to do, he paused, waiting to hear if it was anything interesting.

Ted's expression was a mixture of hurt and defiance as he stared down at his girlfriend of just over a year. God she was gorgeous, even when she was angry, her brown curls were still wild from the game and her dark eyes were sparkling. And if he looked down further- He firmly tried to push those thoughts out of his head as Andromeda glared at him. He should be angry, not turned on! He pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb and tried to breathe deeply.

"Okay, clearly you're upset about something else and you're taking it out on me," he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear, much to the annoyance of the hidden eavesdropper. "So why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

Andromeda felt tears prick at her eyes and she willed them to fade away. She wanted to tell him everything, how she was scared what falling in love with him would affect her family, how her little sister was falling for a total bastard, how her little cousin could stand up for a halfblood he barely knew while she couldn't stand up for him, the boy she loved. But she was a Black; and Blacks don't get emotional. Eventually, she shook her head. "There's nothing wrong."

"Come on, 'Dromeda, you can tell me whatever it is," Ted pushed. He ventured a step closer, so they were now standing toe to toe and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't hug him back, instead she rested her head on his chest and let the tears start leaking down her face. In Ted's arms was the one place in the whole world she felt safe, ironic considering he was the one person who could bring her life as she knew it crashing down around her.

It was this point that Sirius decided it was just a boring lover's tiff and he started on his path back into the school, surreptitiously glancing at the partially hidden couple as he passed. His mouth fell open in shock. Andromeda? ! With a Hufflepuff? !

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><p>The Gryffindor common room was totally deserted, save for one lone student who sat in what he considered the best armchair of the school, his head bowed over his parchment. The crackling of the fire and the scratching of his quill were the only sounds that could be heard. Remus enjoyed the quiet. James had been dying to go see the Hufflepuff-Slytherin game (<em>"Any possible chance to see the snakes get beat!"<em>) and Peter had naturally offered to accompany him, while he had begged out under the excuse of too much homework. The rest of the Gryffindors were presumably also at the match, the Quidditch games something of a novelty to many of the first years still and the rest were like James, just hoping to rub a defeat in the Slytherins' faces.

The truth was, the essay he was currently slaving over wasn't due in for another week. The disbelief over being allowed to attend Hogwarts still hadn't faded for Remus. He still half expected after every full moon for Professor Dumbledore to change his mind, to say that they now fully realised just what kind of monster he turned into and it could no longer be accommodated at the school. But as of yet, it still hadn't happened. He dipped his pen in the inkwell beside him and got back to his essay. So, he'd come up with a plan before he left for Platform 9 ¾: Be the best student there was. Make sure Dumbledore and all the others would never even _dream_ of sending their star pupil away, because of a _minor_ health problem.

Well, it was worth a try. And if he had to miss out on an insignificant game of Quidditch now and again to stay at school, that was a price he was willing to pay.

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><p><em>Aww poor Lupin. I realise not a lot happened in this chapter but I wanted to throw Ted in to the mix.<em>


	10. Happy Holidays

**_Hi, I don't mean to sound arrogant because I know this story isn't brilliant but just considering how quickly the other chapters were rev_**_**iewd after I put them up, I'm curious to know why Chapter 9 didn't get any? Just so I know if it desperately needs rewritten or something :) The sudden silence was a little unner**_**ving!**

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><p>She gripped the parchment in her hands tightly in a vain attempt to stop the shaking. Her vision was blurred by the salty tears threatening to overflow, but it didn't stop her reading the same line over and over again.<p>

_I know about you and the Mudblood._

She recognised the writing, arrogance seemed to ooze even from that. Hearing footsteps and excited giggling, Andromeda hurriedly stuffed the letter under her duvet and jumped up from the bed, her back to the door as she attempted to brush away the offending tears as her dormmates burst inside.

"You still aren't finished packing?" Hertia asked. "We need to go soon."

"I know, I'm nearly done," Andromeda said, her voice only quivering slightly as the words ran through her head again. _You and the Mudblood…_

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><p>Abigail watched her breath come out in misty clouds, deep in thought as she stood ankle deep in the snow beside the lake. She shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her winter coat trying to get some more heat into the frozen digits but she still wasn't ready to go back inside.<p>

Sirius had been looking everywhere for her for hours and as he took one last look around the wintery grounds he finally spotted a lone figure. Clumping through the snow with his green and silver scarf pulled up high against the cold, he grinned as he neared her and bent down to pick up a handful of the snow at his feet.

_Thud._

Feeling the icy wetness running down the back of her neck, Abigail shrieked and whirled round to face him, her brown hair flying.

"Sirius! I'm gonna kill you!" she yelled, leaning down herself to pick up some more.

He laughed and ducked away from the snowball thrown in his direction and held up his hands. "Truce!"

She glared at him then brushed the snow from her gloves. Sirius walked over to stand beside her as she went back to looking across the lake.

"You staying here for the holidays then?" he asked.

"Yeah… things are kind of a mess at home at the moment. Easier for everyone if I stay at Hogwarts over Christmas," she replied quietly. She gave him a small smile. "It'll be nice to be able to sit where I want in the common room for a couple of weeks at least. Thank Merlin we've only got to put up with Malfoy and his cronies until June."

"Speak for yourself," Sirius said ruefully. "Looks like I might end up with him in the family, the way the folks back home are talking about him and Cissy. Makes me sick." He let out a sigh. "I sorta envy you, getting to stay here. I'd much rather be here than go back to Grimmauld Place."

Abigail wasn't surprised, it was no secret Sirius was not the favourite in the Black family. She almost shuddered at the thought of spending any amount of time with a family like that.

"Well... Why don't you stay?" she suggested. Warming up to the idea, "We could do pretty much whatever we wanted with most of the other students away!"

"Hmm… I guess if I did miss the train it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," Sirius said with a grin, already starting to form plans in his mind of how to best utilise this sudden free time at the school. "I really want to find the hidden passages in the school… think how great it would be to be the only people who knew where they were!"

With a grin back, "So you'll stay then?"

"Why not?" He shrugged and then gave her a gentle shove. "I knew you'd get to like me, Nighthew. The first moment we met I knew we'd bonded for life!"

"All I knew was that I was getting sprayed by your half eaten dinner!" she shot back but she smiled and shook her head. "Let's get back before we freeze to death."

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><p>Ted waited patiently at their previously arranged meeting place on the Hogwarts Express, trying to look as inconspicuous as was possible for a Hufflepuff Prefect to look. Turns out it was actually quite easy. He ran a hand through his light hair, silently remonstrating himself for not giving it a quick comb before he left the carriage. At least his breath smelled okay. The minutes ticked by, first five, then ten... soon he'd been waiting for 45 minutes. He stole a glance at the Slytherin carriage, trying to see if he could spot her and wondering if he was brave enough to venture inside and look for her there himself. Well, there was a reason he wasn't in Gryffindor.<p>

Finally the door rolled open and she was there, albeit with her younger sister who gave him a disdainful look, truly worthy of the Black family.

"Shouldn't you be in the Hufflepuff carriage?" she asked pointedly.

Ted ignored her, she wasn't the girl he wanted to see. His voice seemed to die in his throat at the cold, uninterested look in Andromeda's eyes as the two sisters passed by him on the way to the girls' bathroom. As the door closed behind them, he shook his head. It was a front, it had to be. She obviously just wasn't ready for her family to know yet and on some level he could understand that... but on other levels it still made his blood boil that something so trivial could keep them apart so easily.

Andromeda ushered her sister out before her, saying she would be along later. Waiting for a few more minutes to pass, she took the time to collect herself and breezed out of the bathroom as if she didn't have a problem in the world. He was still there, that look of steadfast loyalty still in his eyes. Damn Hufflepuffs. Those eyes soon lit up as he noticed her exit by herself and he moved toward her.

"Hey," he said softly. "What kept you so long?"

_Be Bella. _"That's hardly any of your business," she said coldly, brushing past him. Almost as if it were an afterthought, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small stack of letters and pushed them into his hands. "I would appreciate it if you stopped sending these," she added, the final chunk of ice setting firmly in what had been her heart as she marched back into the Slytherin compartment.=

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><p>Regulus Black ran eagerly to the study, expecting to see his older brother and father stepping out of the fire place from Platform 9 34. His face fell upon realising his father was alone. And furious.

"That bloody boy never got on the train!" he bellowed, storming past his youngest son in search of his wife. Regulus cast one look back at the now empty fireplace, his heart sinking as he realised he'd be spending the holidays alone with his parents. A seed of bitterness planted itself in that moment: Sirius had promised he'd see him at Christmas, there had been the unspoken promise that he wouldn't let him suffer in the family house, so cold in so many ways, alone. It looked like Kreacher would be his only company this time.

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><p><em><strong>Give me a heads up if there's a character I haven't mentioned yet that you want to see :) Or even if you desperately want your own OC ha ha. There's a poll on my profile page concerning the next chapter, take a look it would be a great help :)<strong>_


	11. Unravelling

**_I skipped forward a few years because nothing much in the way of plot was happening in the 1st-3rd years. If it feels like its jumped too randomly let me know! I had written a big section of this chapter a while ago where Regulus was sorted into Gryffindor because he felt betrayed that Sirius was in Slytherin (seeing as he seemed different from the rest of the family and Reg looked up to him for it etc) and this turned him away from his family completely... but then no one chose Gryffindor in the poll ha ha so I just stuck with Slytherin. I had major writers block on the earlier version as well so this just seemed to flow better._**

_**September 1974 - Marauders' 4th Year**_

Sirius had a problem. That much was clear to himself, although he hoped not others, and it didn't seem as if this particular problem looming over him was going to go away any time soon. Which was another problem in itself really. A never-ending circle. Okay so maybe he was being a little dramatic, but he honestly couldn't stop thinking about her.

It was the worst in Potions. The feelings were so cheesy that they made him blush furiously, but she seemed to light up the cold dank dungeons as they slaved away over their haliwinkles and billywig stings, Slughorn droning on in the background relentlessly.

It also didn't help that she was always hanging around them these days, Snape's fault of course. Why couldn't he be a good little Slytherin and stick to his own house? Five of them sat out on the grass one Saturday, enjoying the rare sunny spell. Sirius lay flat on his back, Potions book covering his face from the sun's rays; Abi was sitting up next to him playing absent-mindedly with a daisy she'd picked out of the ground. Regulus was caught up in a heated debate with Avery over something, and of course Snape was having another whispered discussion with _her_.

Sirius rolled his eyes, hidden from view by the textbook, but tried to listen into the seemingly intense conversation nonetheless before a familiar voice interrupted them. He could tell who was approaching without even lifting the book from his face: Potter, no doubt followed by Lupin and that cretin Pettigrew. His nose wrinkled in distaste, he couldn't stand that little weasel. How he had been sorted into Gryffindor was anyone's guess. He zoned out of the next part of the exchange, it would be the same old same old: Potter heckling, the minions laughing, Lily scolding, Snape sulking.

Sirius and James had developed a mutual understanding back after the infamous detention incident in first year, which had resulted in Professor Dawkins' retirement less than a year later. Sirius ruled the Slytherins; James was king of the Gryffindors. Neither encroached on the other's territory, aside from one notable exception to the rule. It wasn't that he particularly liked the greasy git or anything… but his borders were being tested. And he didn't like it.

He bristled at the familiar line that came next: "Go out with me, Evans, and I'll stop!"

Oh yeah, there was that other reason Potter seemed like more of a threat these days. Of course Lily gave one of her smart-arse replies and he soon backed off, taking the others with him. Finally sitting up and letting the textbook slide into his lap, he noted with a stab of surprise that Snape looked as jealous as he felt.

* * *

><p>Andromeda Yaxley stared out of the window into the pouring rain beyond, the weather matching her mood perfectly; not that it had changed much in the past two years. Her husband was a cruel, cold-hearted man with nothing to offer her but money and social standing, coincidentally the only two things her parents were really looking for in potential husbands. They had wed just after she graduated Hogwarts, thank Merlin her father had at least let her finish her education before sentencing her to a life of misery.<p>

Forceful hands gripped her shoulders, interrupting her train of thought.

"You're looking very solemn, my pet," Yaxley murmured into her ear as he began to rub her shoulders.

She shuddered inwardly, still unused to him touching her. "I'm just thinking."

His grip on her tightened painfully for a moment before he released and stepped back. "We have important guests arriving shortly. Make sure they are sufficiently entertained."

And with that he strode out of the room, leaving her with tear filled eyes alone in the cold empty room. Her father's voice echoed in her mind, _"Stop that noise! Blacks never cry!"_ She sniffed but made no effort to wipe the tears away. After all, she wasn't a Black anymore was she?

* * *

><p>Ted Tonks was a broken man. It was official. He stumbled out of the Leaky Cauldron, bleary eyed and stinking of firewhiskey. Ignoring the laughs and shouted comments from the other regulars he finally got out into the cold Autumn air and leaned heavily against the rough brick wall. As usual, his mind was on one thing.<p>

"'Dromeda..." he moaned, tears slipping down his cheeks. He still couldn't understand why she had rejected him that day on the train. He still hadn't gotten over it. He'd held out hope for months... until he'd seen the news in the Daily Prophet two years ago. That damned wedding announcement: Andromeda Black and... hell he couldn't even remember the bastard's name. He'd been a Pureblood of course, he thought bitterly. One with suspected ties to the Death Eaters.

Well... maybe that was the way to win her back... she liked Death Eaters... so he would become one. He began to laugh hysterically, attracting worried looks from people passing. Yes, that's what to do, become the first Muggle-born Death Eater! The plan was flawless! He fell to his knees, tears of laughter now coursing down his unshaven face. He would storm into the meeting, demand to join their ranks and then sweep Andromeda off her feet and carry her off into the sunset like those old Muggle movies his mum loved.

Or he'd die trying.

* * *

><p><strong>:)<strong>


	12. The Map

_**Thank you to all my reviewers for the last few chapters, as well as the people who have favourited/added to alerts. It really makes me smile :)**_

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><p>Andromeda shivered in the cold evening breeze and wrapped her robes closer around her. It could start snowing out here and she still would rather be freezing to death in the garden than be in the house with <em>them.<em> Merlin, she hated Death Eaters.

A loud POP! startled her and the house elf cowered away, apologising profusely he said, "Master Yaxley wants to see you, Mistress. In the dining room."

He disappeared again, leaving her alone as hope sparked inside her, perhaps he had to tell her that he was leaving for a while, on "official business" of course. She hurried inside, her heels clacking on the polished wooden floor. Pushing the door open, her face drained of colour at the gruesome sight in front of her. Blacks don't show emotion. Andromeda Yaxley fainted.

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you there's something going on," Snape insisted. Homework forgotten, the others stared at him with varying degrees of scepticism before one of the girls spoke up.<p>

"What evidence have you got?" Abigail challenged loudly, earning a glare from the old librarian watching them with distrust in her eagle eyes. Lowering her voice, she continued, "It's a big claim to make if it's just a hunch, Sev."

"It's not just a hunch!" he said hotly"Every full moon he disappears, then resurfaces covered in bruises and looking like hell. What other explanation is there for that?"

"You're thinking too much into it," Lily dismissed, picking her quill up again. Her voice took on a reproachful tone as she tucked a stray hair back behind her ear. "You know his mother is sick, that must be really difficult for him. You shouldn't be making up rumours to make his life even more difficult."

"I'm not making it up, Lily!" he insisted again, a slight flush appearing across his pale cheeks. Lily's dismissal hurt a lot more than Abi's.

"Right, that's it! Out the lot of you!" the librarian hissed, shooing them away from their desk. "This is a place for _quiet _study, not for you to behave like hoodlums! Out, now!"

Groaning and protesting, the teenagers stood up and began shoving parchment and textbooks back into their bags as Snape continued his argument in a heated whisper.

"He's been lying about going home to see his mother! I watched him leave with Madam Pomfrey the last time, they went to the Whomping Willow!" he hissed. Lily shook her head and swung her bag strap up over her shoulder before the group left the library.

"You were watching them?" Avery asked, his blonde eyebrows raised. He sniggered, "That's a little creepy."

"Oh like you can talk about being creepy!" Lily snapped, her green eyes flashing with anger as she remembered the incident that had happened last week. "Your little friend Mulciber isn't exactly charming!"

Seeing Avery was going to make a retort, Snape elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "Back to what I was trying to say… the noises coming from the Shrieking Shack-"

"It's haunted, of course there are going to be weird noises coming from it," Abigail scoffed as they rounded the corner. Seeing a familiar figure up ahead, her eyes narrowed. "And speaking of weird noises…. Where the hell were you?"

Leaning casually against the wall, his messy hair falling into his eyes in that... annoying way, Sirius just gave her one of _those_ grins. "Come on, Abi, you know I'd never be caught dead in a library!"

Lily rolled her eyes as he sauntered over to join the group. "Maybe you should start being caught there alive then, before McGonagall actually does kill you."

"Nah, McGonagall loves me," he replied cheerfully. "But if you desperately want me to come next time, Evans…"

"As much as I hate to interrupt," Snape began, a sneer spread across his pale face.

"Could have fooled me," Sirius stated immediately. He scoffed, "You're not still going on about Lupin, are you? Y'know that's why Potter has been hassling you more than usual."

"I think we all know the real reason for that," Snape said coldly, his black eyes burning into Lily's, who looked away uncomfortably.

Sirius shrugged, done with the conversation. "Nope, I think I've missed something there. Anyway I'm glad I caught you lot without Reg tagging along. Got something to show you..."

* * *

><p>A sharp pain across her face was the first thing she felt when she was dragged cruelly back to consciousness. Her stormy eyes opened slowly, her vision was blurred but she could still make out the motionless body lying only 5 feet away from her. A wave of nausea rose up from her stomach as a hard kick to her side sent her sprawling on the floor again before she was pulled to her feet. Yaxley pushed her up against the wall, his face contorted with rage.<p>

"Yes that's right, take a good look at your little pet Mudblood," he spat. The fury inside him boiled and twisted inside him, screaming to get out. "Do you have _any _idea how much you have humiliated me, you stupid bitch!"

"I-I don't understand," she whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from Ted's body. "What did you do to him!"

A grotesque smile twisted his features as he replied, "Unfortunately, I did nothing except enjoy watching him die. The Dark Lord had the pleasure of ending his miserable life."

"No..." she moaned, crushing despair making her sink halfway down the wall. Her usual proud figure was gone, she looked so small in her grief. Ted was gone... along with her dreams of someday escaping this godforsaken house. No. No, he couldn't be gone. It was some sort of trick he was playing on her, to make sure she would stay with him. He was testing her, that _had_ to be it.

Yaxley's hand tightened on his wand. Her outward display of emotion at the mudblood's death only added to his humiliation; his wife had been in love with scum, yet still hated him - one of her own, a pureblood, for Merlin's sake! He had failed where a mudblood had succeeded and that was unacceptable.

* * *

><p>The two girls wrinkled their noses in disgust at the state and smell of the room in front of them, the boys sauntered in paying no attention. Snape dumped his bag on his bed - the only made one in the room - clearly still annoyed at the others. Sirius dropped down onto his bed and started rummaging around in his trunk for something. His hand closed around the familiar parchment and he grinned as he pulled it out.<p>

"Ladies and gents," he announced, opening up the seemingly blank parchment with a flourish, "I present to you, the evidence that I, Sirius Orion Black, have had a much more productive afternoon than you lot."

"You actually managed to find the parchment supply your mother packed in September? Well done, Sirius," Abi said with a snort.

"Patience, Miss Nighthew, patience!" he chided, picking up his wand. "All is about to become clear..." Much to the other's bemusement, he tapped the parchment with his wand gently and stated, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Previously looking bored, Avery and Snape frowned and got up off their own beds to move closer as words began to appear on the page.

"What the hell..." Avery muttered. He read slowly,

"_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Featherwing, and Prongs  
>Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers<br>are proud to present  
>THE MARAUDER'S MAP<em>"

"What is this?" he asked, looking up at Sirius who now had a smug expression on his face.

"It's a map of Hogwarts," he replied. Looking at the others to judge their reactions, he continued, "Nicked it off Potter."

Lily's eyes widened as they took in the strange artefact. "Wait... there's names on it... Sirius! You need to hand this in!"

"Are you kidding?" he scoffed. "This is gold!"

Confused, Abi took a closer look at the map trying to figure out what Lily was so upset about and the truth dawned on her a few moments later. Avery was still looking confused, while Snape looked grudgingly impressed.

"This map shows the people as well as the rooms of Hogwarts doesn't it?" she said. Trust Sirius to find this. "So Moony, Wormtail, Featherwing and Prongs are...?"

At this, Sirius frowned. "I don't know."

Too intent on the map, no one noticed Snape's eyes light up.


	13. The Shrieking Shack

**_Wow... the last update got double the amount of reads I normally get for a new chapter! Thanks :D And now I present to you the most important chapter so far (and the longest!), hope you enjoy, please drop a review if you do, or if you have any constructive criticism to share :) It's all appreciated._**

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><p>"If we were Animagi... what animals do you think we'd turn into?" Abigail asked absent-mindedly as she scanned over her Transfiguration textbook. Frowning in concentration, she played with a strand of brown hair that had escaped her ponytail. Slumped on the desk across from her in apparent despair, Avery mumbled into the table,<p>

"I'd be a bear. That way I could hibernate instead of having to do these exams."

"Bears hibernate in winter," Abi reminded him as she turned the page, immediately forgetting everything she'd just read. "Exams are in summer."

"Bears can't hold quills," he countered, lifting his head up from the table for a moment, his blue eyes surveying her. "Or wands. Or textbooks. Or McGonagall." Resting his chin on his hand, he looked to be deep in thought, before he said, "I think you'd be a dolphin."

Abi's eyes finally lifted from the page and the corners of her mouth curved upwards slightly. "I can't see a dolphin being much use in an emergency. Imagine walking alone at night, with no wand, and hearing someone following you. Turning into a dolphin would definitely not help matters." She paused. "Why?"

"Why what?" he asked with a yawn.

"Why a dolphin?" she said patiently.

Avery opened his mouth to speak, then it snapped shut and he shrugged. "I dunno."

"You're as bad as Sirius," she said rolling her eyes. "I asked him what animal he would be, he said, and I quote: "I'd be a sperm whale. Cos they're massive and well the rest of the clue is in the name."" She imitated his wink, sending Avery sniggering.

For once, it was only the two of them sitting in the library for their normal study night - which usually consisted of gossiping with Lily and laughing at the boys' stupid remarks rather than any actual productive work - and Abi was enjoying spending time with the slightly ... well "dopey" was the only word she could find to fit him, boy. Both Slytherins had grown up a lot over the past three years: Avery, while still a firm believer in the pureblood ways, wasn't quite as outspoken, and Abi wasn't quite as defensive about her heritage.

"Abigail..."

A tentative voice brought her attentions back to the sandy haired boy seated across from her who was looking down at the table, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed.

"What would you do if... if you found yourself..." he forced out the next sentence in a rush that she barely caught, "in love with someone you knew your parents wouldn't approve of? And I mean, really wouldn't approve, I'm talking being cut out of the will, disowned, the whole package."

Stunned, Abi just stared at him for a moment. _He doesn't mean me does he? _"Ummm..."

"It's just," he pressed on, "I can't stop thinking about this person. Ever since I met them it's been like that."

She felt her face heating up slightly and replied, "I-I think you should tell them how you feel if it's that strong."

Avery still looked troubled. "It's not that simple. Maybe I should just forget about it and focus my attention on finding the ideal pureblooded woman to marry."

The words stung, but Abi had gotten good at hiding it. "Maybe you should think about doing what you want for a change instead of what your society wants."

"It's not that simple," he repeated, sighing and lying back down on the desk. "Forget I mentioned anything, Miss Dolphin."

She smiled despite herself. "If that's what you want, Mr Bear."

* * *

><p>Sirius lay spread-eagled under the emerald green covers, groaning loudly enough so that the other boys couldn't forget how awful he was feeling. His head was pounding, for once not the result of too much firewhiskey, and he clutched his forehead dramatically as he continued his complaining. Mulciber, having had enough, launched his DADA book at him none too gently.<p>

"Ow!" Sirius yelped, the heavy book smacking him on the forehead.

"I'm trying to sleep," the other boy snapped irritably. "Shut up or go to the Hospital Wing."

"Charming," Sirius muttered, chucking the book back across the room. All was quiet for several minutes, before Sirius's ears perked up at the sound of someone creeping towards his bed. His eyes adjusted to the darkness just in time to see Snape sitting down on the side of his bed.

"Sorry, you're not my type," he said warily, scooting away from the scowling Snape.

"Can we talk? In private?" he whispered, dark greasy hair falling across his face.

Sirius edged further away quickly until he realised too late that there was no bed left, resulting in him falling out of the bed with a crash and a loud groan.

"What are you doing?" Snape hissed looking over the edge of the bed. Sirius was sprawled across the floor. With the news he wanted to share with Black, he was in no mood to deal with his stupidity.

"Trying to get away from your creepy advances!" Sirius shot back, trying to untangle himself from the bedcovers. "What do you want to talk about at this time of night?"

"In private!" Snape insisted.

Down in the deserted Slytherin common room, Sirius glared across at Snape. Slouching back in the armchair he had claimed for his own and putting his feet up on the table in front, he shrugged his shoulders. "So... talk."

Snape launched into his carefully rehearsed speech, he knew he'd need to make it sound convincing to get Black on his side, otherwise he'd just brush it aside and laugh at him with the others. Sirius looked bored for most of it, but as Snape carried on he could see a faint spark of interest in those grey eyes.

"It's happening tomorrow night," Snape finished off. "It'll be the perfect opportunity to see if it's the truth or not."

* * *

><p>Andromeda hadn't left her private study for three days, she'd even transfigured the desk into a semi-comfortable bed. Yaxley occasionally came and hammered on the door, demanding that she stop acting so childish and come out. She was a much more powerful witch than he was a wizard and she felt no need to hide it for the sake of propriety any more, instead she put her strengths to good use on keeping the door and windows sealed firmly shut.<p>

Her shoulder length dark brown hair was lank and unwashed, her face was pale except for the redness around her eyes caused by hours of endless crying, and she hadn't eaten since shutting herself away. Nothing could have prepared her for seeing that body; it had only been then that she realised how deep her feelings still ran for Ted.

Yaxley paced up and down the hallway outside the study. People were starting to talk, his mother had stiffly informed him the last time they had spoken. Plenty of pureblooded couples forced into arranged marriages were unhappy, but they did not show it. They appeared in public, they had children, that was the way of things.

"We want to see her."

He whirled round to see Narcissa and Bellatrix striding haughtily towards the door.

"You can't-"

Bellatrix shot him a glare and with a swift wave of her wand the door flew open and she strode inside. Yaxley grit his teeth but followed his sister-in-law into the room. Andromeda stood at the furthest away corner, her own wand brandished.

"Oh put it down, Dromeda," Bella snapped, rolling her eyes at the state her sister had gotten into. She turned on Yaxley and looked him over with a sneer akin to derision. "I don't think you're needed here."

Before he could protest, the door slammed in his face.

Andromeda let the wand drop from her fingers and it fell to the floor with a clatter. Once again, she started to sob.

Narcissa strode towards her and gave her a shake. "Stop that. Merlin, you look awful." With another quick flick of her wand, she performed a rapid cleaning spell on her despondent sister.

"What are you doing here?" Andromeda asked shakily, trying to pull herself together.

"Mother sent us," she replied shortly. "He was a mudblood, Andromeda. You're embarrassing us all by acting like this!"

"You wouldn't understand," she replied accusingly. "You and Lucius have your perfect engagement, you're planning your perfect marriage to be followed by your perfect blonde little babies. And you and Rodolphus... well you two are just made for each other."

"Yaxley was as good a match-" Narcissa began.

"Yaxley's a bastard!" Andromeda exploded, her grey eyes flashing with anger. "I'd rather be married to a troll than him!"

"Don't say things like that!" the blonde sister's voice had a hint of pleading now as she glanced back at the door. "You're causing a scene!"

"And there it is!" Andromeda said with a cold laugh. "The unwritten rule of the Black family, never mind _Toujours Pur_! 'Never cause a scene'! Do you know the French for that, Cissy? Maybe we can redo the family crest, get it emblazoned on all the walls just so we don't forget-"

The sharp sound of hand colliding with cheek echoed around the room and Andromeda let out a gasp as her hand flew to her burning face. Bellatrix had _never _slapped her before. A slap in the face was a sign of humiliation, something reserved for servants and enemies. Not for sisters. But it was all Bella needed to say, that simple action conveyed more than mere words ever could. Still slowly rubbing her cheek, now sporting a red handprint, Andromeda stared at her sister in defeat.

"What do I do?" she whispered.

"What all of us do," she replied bitterly. "Without complaint."

* * *

><p>Remus had been feeling more tense than normal in the week running up to the full moon. As usual, his senses were heightened to an uncomfortable level and he was having a hard time concentrating. Normally his friends were sympathetic, but tonight, James was having problems of his own. He watched him rummage through his trunk for the fourth time that night, then give up and move onto searching underneath his bed, for the sixth time. The door opened and James looked up hopefully, but Peter trudged in with a shake of his head.<p>

"I searched everywhere, it's definitely not in the common room."

"You must have dropped it somewhere," Remus said, trying to hide his irritation at all the noise as he drew the curtains around his bed. "Just wait until the morning and retrace your steps, James."

"That map took months," James groaned, too distracted to notice his friend's mood. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and went back to sorting through his trunk. He yanked out the invisibility cloak and swung it round his body, immediately disappearing. Peter watched as the door was thrown open and James's voice called out, "Go back down to the common room and keep searching!"

* * *

><p>The next night, Sirius and Snape crept down the stairs from the dorms. The few students left in the common room paid the two fourth years no attention, meaning they could leave the dungeons with no problems. The unlikely duo stopped as Sirius pulled out the Marauder's Map and quietly recited, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."<p>

The usual greeting appeared on the parchment, followed by a series of black lines that formed the layout of the castle. Snape pointed at a name on the map.

"There they are, in the hospital wing." His voice held a tinge of excitement, the plan so far was going as he had told Sirius it would. "They'll start moving out of the castle in a few minutes."

Sirius made a non-committal "hmm" sound and went back to looking at the map. One name caught his attention: _Lily Evans... _"Why didn't you ask Lily to go with you instead of me?" he asked Snape as they walked down the corridor. "Or Abi?"

Snape flushed and muttered something unintelligible. One reason occurred to Sirius and he let out a short bark of laughter. "I suppose if there really is a werewolf down there then you would have no problems running and leaving me behind. How noble of you to not want to endanger the girls."

"You can go back to your bed if you want, Black," Snape spat out. "But we both know, you're as curious as I am about what's really in the Shrieking Shack, you're just so used to disagreeing with me that you don't know how to do anything else! And with the others not believing me, you definitely couldn't disagree with a whole crowd now could you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius replied sharply, bristling at the comments which were starting to hit too close to home.

"For all your talk, you're the same as the rest of your family," Snape continued, too angry to care that he was losing his only 'ally' in his quest to uncover Lupin's secret. "You ended up here didn't you? Just like the rest of them. Why do you think that happened, Black?"

Sirius glared at him for a moment then shook his head. "Screw you, you miserable bastard."

As his temper began to cool down, Snape watched with dawning dismay as Sirius stormed back in the direction they had come in, back to the dungeons.

Abi had been staring into the fire still mulling over what Avery had said the night before in the library. She knew there were many people he could have been referring to, but she still couldn't help blushing whenever she thought about it. _Mrs Abigail Avery...Oh stop acting so stupid, Abi!_she scolded herself. An angry Sirius storming into the common room pulled her back to reality.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked as he marched towards her.

"Snape," he muttered, pausing beside her chair. "Stupid git."

"Where is Severus? I haven't seen him for ages," she asked, feeling a little guilty that she'd just noticed.

"He's off on some stupid trek to the Shrieking Shack to see if his theory about Lupin is true," Sirius muttered, his head starting to hurt again. "I'm going back to bed, see you at breakfast."

"Yeah, see you." She watched him go with a frown. Sev just hadn't been able to let the whole Lupin thing go. If he was caught out after hours with that map out in the grounds... and God knows what was actually in that shack... Making her mind up, she quickly ran up to her room to pull on a cloak and dashed out of the common room in search of her friend.

* * *

><p>Remus followed Madam Pomfrey out of the castle, dread filling him up and making his feet drag. She gave him a sympathetic smile, but Remus could see as always that it didn't quite reach her eyes. No, there was a totally different emotion there. He went through the motions as if on auto-pilot, Pomfrey froze the Whomping Willow and gave him the usual reminder to come back to the hospital wing in the morning. With a nod, he ducked down into the tunnel, knowing it wouldn't be long until the burning agony consumed him, and he became a monster.<p>

* * *

><p>The corridors at night were eerie, to say the least. Only the sound of her shoes clacking on the cold stone floors echoed along them and she was beginning to give up hope of finding Severus in time to stop him, until she rounded the next corner and saw him staring back at her.<p>

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. "Go back to bed!"

"I was about to say the same thing to you," she retorted. "You're going to get caught, Sev!"

"Not when I have this," he said brandishing the map. With an impatient sigh, he whispered, "Look, either come with me and keep quiet, or go and let me see for myself whether this is true."

"And what are you going to do if it is all true and you find yourself staring at a werewolf? Roll the map up and him in on the nose with it?" came her retort. "I'm coming with you."

"Fine," he snapped, already moving outside. Abi quickened her pace to keep up with him and they walked along in silence, finally stopping at a safe distance from the dangerous tree that for some reason Dumbledore had decided to have planted in the grounds.

"Why are we here?" she whispered, shivering and pulling her cloak further around her.

"There's a passage running from under the tree to the Shrieking Shack," he muttered. His suspicions had been confirmed as he had watched Lupin and Pomfrey's names pause at the base of the tree, then Lupin's had disappeared while the matron's name had started moving back to the castle.

"But we can't get past that thing!" she said staring up at the imposing tree.

"Of course we can," Snape replied simply. Pointing his wand at the tree, he stated clearly, "_Immobulus!"_

The charm was mostly successful, Snape grabbed Abi's arm and pulled her towards the tree as a few branches made half hearted swats at them. As they got closer, she could see the mouth of the tunnel ahead and her heart began beating faster. What if he was right... what if there was a werewolf on the other side of the tunnel... Before she could back out, they heard a loud screech and something large and white was in front of them, flapping its wings angrily in an attempt to stop them going down.

"Sev!" she yelled. "What's happening?"

"It's just an owl!" he said. With some effort, he pulled her inside the tunnel leaving the bizarre owl screeching behind them. Until...

"Merlin, it's following us!" Abi shrieked as they hurried down the dirty tunnel. "Maybe it had a nest down here or something?"

* * *

><p>Remus could feel his heart beating faster and louder, his skin was starting to crawl. It was almost time. His ears perked up as he heard strange noises coming from what sounded like inside the tunnel but he dismissed it as the wind. His mind was getting confused, more so than was normal and his last Human thought was one of horror. A familiar bird flew into the room but stayed at the entrance to the tunnel, still screeching and flapping it wings in an effort to block the entrance. Excruciating pain ripped through Remus and he fell to the floor, writhing in agony as his limbs began to lengthen and hair was forced up through his skin, although it may as well have been needles for the pain it caused.<p>

He let out an involuntary scream, his capacity for normal thought had disappeared, as the two students stumbled into the room. Abi's mouth fell open in a silent scream, while Snape felt anything but triumph as he stood frozen to the spot. The red mist descended on Remus. Letting out a howl, the now fully transformed werewolf lunged.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Dun dun dun... <em>**


	14. Guilt

"Abi, run!" the words tore out of Snape's throat as his instincts kicked in, but the teenagers were too far away from the tunnel's entrance to get to it before the werewolf's teeth sank firmly into Abi's thigh. She let out a terrified scream as she fell to the dusty wooden floor with a hard thud. Blood poured from the puncture wounds and as the wolf savagely ripped his head away from its prey, it took away a huge chunk of Abi's flesh in its mouth. A puddle of crimson blood began rapidly growing around Abi, who was now mercifully unconscious. The wolf let out another howl and bared its teeth; preparing to strike once more.

A different shriek from behind Snape made him duck and once again that damn persistent owl flew into the face of the wolf, obstructing its vision and confusing it long enough for Snape to pull Abi's arm over his shoulder and haul her into the tunnel.

"Come on, come on," he muttered to himself through gritted teeth as they neared the exit. A snarl echoed along the tunnel walls from the room they had just fled, and Snape knew his time was nearly up. The trail of blood Abi was leaking as they went wasn't exactly doing them any favours, he realised. But the exit was in sight, all he needed to do... was run for it. Again gritting his teeth, he tightened his hold on Abigail and barrelled down the tunnel, praying that the narrow walls would slow the animal down.

He let out a yell of sheer relief and exhaustion as they burst out into fresh air... only to find the Immobulus charm had worn off. Back to her usual fighting strength, the Whomping Willow sensed the movement and sent a huge branch sailing in their direction. Snape was sent flying and hit the ground ten feet away with a sickening crunch before everything went black.

Abi lay bleeding out a few feet away from Snape, as the owl that had been attempting to protect them all night soared into the night sky in the direction of the castle.

* * *

><p>Light hurt. Noise hurt. Everything hurt. Remus groaned and soon realised that hurt too. He wasn't in the Shrieking Shack; this was the first coherent thought that entered his exhausted head and he forced himself to open his eyes fully. Why was he in the Hospital Wing already? Had he dragged himself over and passed out, forgetting that he'd done so? As usual he was in the private room, kept away from the prying eyes of the other students but he knew that Madam Pomfrey would have been alerted to his awakening and would be along to see him soon.<p>

In actual fact, the school's matron was much to busy to see to Remus for another two hours. The Nighthew girl was still unconscious and it was unclear whether or not she would lose her leg, as a result of her extensive injuries and possible infection she had been sent to St Mungo's earlier in the morning. The Healers weren't holding up much hope for recovery.

Snape was still in the Hospital Wing recovering from several broken bones, the nastiest being in both of his legs, but he was expected to make a full recovery in a day or so. The boy had been very lucky.

Regulus Black had been sent back to his common room with strict instructions not to leave. His worst injury had been a gash up his left side left by Lupin's- Pomfrey stopped herself. The _werewolf's_ claws. It had been easily healed with a drop of dittany. The third year had shown up at the hospital wing during the night, out of breath and shaking, with the news that she had been fearing since Dumbledore had informed her of Lupin's enrolment. Students had found their way into the Shack, and had paid dearly for their curiosity.

She finally swept into the isolation room next to her office and closed the door firmly behind her. Lupin was sitting up on the bed and offered her a tired smile.

"I'm afraid I can't let you go just yet, Mr Lupin," she said, uncertain of how to break the news of his actions to the poor boy.

"I feel fine," he insisted. "I promise not to go to classes today, I'll catch up on sleep."

Her mouth closed into a thin line and she shook her head. "I-"

"It's alright, Madam Pomfrey," came a gentle voice behind her, which nevertheless startled her. The Headmaster's blue eyes looked solemnly back at her over his spectacles - something that she had lectured him for on many occasions, didn't he know how bad it was for one's eyesight? - and she felt relief wash over her. With a nod, she quickly exited the room and went to check on Snape.

Remus stared at the Professor for a long moment before whispering, "Something happened last night."

* * *

><p>The truth had been bullied out of Regulus eventually by Lily and Sirius, although he left out his own part in the night. As far as they were concerned, he'd gone to the hospital wing with the same cold that had been going round the castle and had heard what had happened from the professors talking to Madam Pomfrey.<p>

The three of them sat in shock in their usual spot outside. Lily sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"It's my fault," she said softly, "I knew about... I knew what was down there. I thought Sev would just give up on the idea if I didn't pay any attention to it."

Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. "It's not your fault. If it's anyone's, it's mine for leaving Snape by himself and then telling Abi where he was... I should have known she'd go after him."

The weather was deceptively cheery: the sunshine was warm on their faces and a slight breezre rustled through the trees nearby.

"Do you think Abi's going to make it?" Lily whispered, not moving away from Sirius whose heartbeat had sped up considerably.

"Yeah, of course she will," he said with false confidence. He couldn't really imagine life at Hogwarts without her... she'd been there since the start. "We can go down to see Madam Pomfrey after lunch and see how she's doing."

"I think they want to keep it hushed up," Regulus said, recounting the cover story he'd been taught before leaving last night, in case anyone wondered where Abi and Snape had disappeared to. "So it would maybe be best to just pretend you don't know anything. They'll keep Severus up to date on Abi, he can let us know when he gets out tomorrow." As well as the other two Slytherins, he was worried about Remus. Word was bound to get out eventually and he'd be expelled. Dumbledore wouldn't be able to justify keeping him in the school now that there had been an attack. Even if he somehow managed to convince people Remus was no danger, many parents would call for expulsion simply because they didn't want their precious little darlings mixing with werewolves. His parents would likely lead the protests.

"Hey, I've been looking for you lot all day!" came an exasperated yell from behind them. Avery jogged over to them, his usual inane grin plastered across his freckled face. Stopping just in front of them, he took in their moody expressions with raised eyebrows. "Whoa, who died?" Chuckling, he dropped down onto the grass and laid back with a contented sigh. After a moments silence, he squinted up at them. "Something wrong?"

"Snape and Abi-" Sirius was cut off by Regulus frantically shaking his head and cautiously switched to the story. "They... caught some kind of dragonpox. Abi's in St Mungo's."

Avery sat up fully, his smile disappearing. "She must be pretty bad then..."

Lily nodded in reply. Avery looked solemn for a moment then tried to change the subject. Nodding at Sirius and Lily, he said jokingly, "You two are looking awfully cosy... anything else happen in my absence."

The redhead blushed and moved away from Sirius who let his arm fall back uselessly at his side. "Course not."

Sirius glared at Avery. Was the boy's foot ever out of his mouth?

* * *

><p>Arman Nighthew stared down at his sleeping daughter, her hair spread out in a brown fan around her head. She looked just the same as she had when she'd come home for Christmas, but he knew inside she was changing. Poison was making its destructive way through her system even as he watched her. Her mother had gone into hysterics on hearing the news; it was a big enough shock to learn that first her husband, then her daughter were magical... now their little girl was a werewolf. A monster, in disguise for 29 days of the month.<p>

Abigail's eyes flickered open briefly and connected with his. The same colour, yet different. Older.

"Father..." she croaked, her throat dry.

Arman shook his head and strode out of the room, his cloak billowing around him. He stopped short just outside the door. Albus Dumbledore looked gravely back at him, a pale faced and thoroughly miserable looking teenager sitting with him. Arman pointed at him, still looking at the old man.

"Is this ... _it_?" He struggled to get the words out. He reached blindly for his wand, causing Dumbledore to get to his feet and stand between him and the boy.

"Mr Lupin is a friend of your daughter's," he said calmly. "He wanted to see how she was doing."

Arman turned away. "The creature in that room is no daughter of mine."

The boy visibly flinched at the hateful words and sank back further into his seat. The guilt and grief lay like a 50 tonne weight on Lupin's chest. He'd maimed her for life. Now her family were disowning her. And it was all his fault.

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><p><strong>It may be my brain going into study avoidance mode, but I can't seem to stop writing ha ha. So here's another chapter for you :) Thank you to the reviewers of the last 2 chapters and the people who have put it on alert!<strong>


	15. Homecoming

*3 Weeks Later*

The small room she'd been allocated was pleasant, if a little boring. At least her bed was comfortable, she'd been spending enough time in it. The window opposite her bed was charmed in a similar way to the ceiling in the Great Hall, only it changed according to the patient's mood. Whenever she was upset, the scene before her changed to an image of the beach at St Andrew's, where Abi had grown up. Now however it showed the Great Lake with Hogwarts in the background. The Healers laughed whenever they walked in to see this particular scene.

"The only teenager who's desperate to go back to school," they'd chuckle.

_Clearly you went to Durmstrang, _she thought. She hadn't met a student at Hogwarts yet who hated it there. There was a soft knock at the door, it opened slowly and a familiar face appeared round the door frame.

"Hey," he said in his usual soft manner. "Can I come in?"

She nodded and managed a small smile as Lupin stepped inside and closed the door. For a week or so after she'd regained consciousness, she couldn't be near him: flashbacks of the attack would send her into panic attacks. Now she was slowly beginning to accept that the boy before her would rather nearly bite his own leg off than purposefully attack her and they'd been spending a few hours together every other day under the Healer's and Dumbledore's encouragement.

Remus took a seat next to her bed and cleared his throat. "I...umm... I need to talk to you about something... that's not going to be easy to hear."

"Chocolate Frog?" she offered abruptly, catching him off-guard.

"Uh... the packet's empty," he replied, his dark eyes darting from the wrapping clutched in her pale outstretched hand to her watery eyes. He cleared his throat again, about to start the dreaded conversation when she threw the empty wrapping aside.

"Dammit, Sirius!" she muttered angrily. "He came to see me with a whole bundle of them then proceeded to eat his way through them while he was here! He said he'd left me one as well. Lying git."

Lupin seemed at a loss for words then comprehension dawned and he bit his lip nervously. It was the week leading up to the full moon after all. "Right... well, like I was saying... There's a full moon coming up and-" He trailed off as she burst into tears and awkwardly patted her hand, not knowing what else to do. "I'm sorry, Abigail, I'm really so sorry. But you need to know what to expect. Do you want me to come back later?"

She shook her head and lifted a pale shaking hand to wipe the tears away. "No it's okay. Well not okay, it's a hellish nightmare, but I need to hear it at some point soon so it might as well be now." She stared at the window which had changed to show the calming scene of the waves crashing onto the beach.

Remus took a deep breath and launched into the details. Of course she already knew where to go, though whether the shack would be big enough for two werewolves was another question. He reluctantly explained how the transformation happened which brought another flood of tears, how she'd need to rest for at least a day afterwards (depending on her injuries) and how she might get more irritable than usual in the run-up. Finally he finished and fell silent, allowing her time to absorb the information.

"When you say injuries," she said shakily. "Are they self-inflicted?"

He hesitated then nodded. "During the transformation... we tend to bite ourselves, out of frustration more than anything else. I don't know how it works when werewolves are together... if they attack each other or not."

She closed her eyes and fell back on the pillows. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Me either," he whispered back. He closed his own eyes and began to tell her a story he'd told no one else, not even the other Marauders. "I was five when I was bitten. My father and I used to go on this annual camping trip down in the countryside and that year we went I... I couldn't sleep." Remus rubbed his forehead and forced himself to continue with the story. "I could remember my father telling me that when you couldn't sleep you should count sheep, and I took him literally. I wandered away from the campsite towards the nearby farm and... the rest is history."

He opened his eyes to see her throwing back the covers and easing herself over to the edge of the bed. Before he could ask she held out her hand and asked quietly, "Help me up?"

He jumped to his feet and before she could protest he had placed his hands on her waist and lifted her up off the bed and then down onto her feet. She stared at him for a moment then started to giggle despite herself. "Normal guys would just have given me their arm."

Flustered he stepped back and let a rueful grin spread across his face as his arms fell back at his sides. "Yeah I guess they would have..."

* * *

><p>Sirius stepped back to look at the masterpiece the five of them had created and grinned. "It looks great!"<p>

Lily pulled a face as she looked at the hand-made banner draped across two of the nearby shelves, the squinty coloured letters spelling out: WELCOME HOME ABI! Every so often bursts of silver glitter would erupt from the top two corners, before long creating two growing sparkling pyramids on the old carpet.

"If you say so," she replied dubiously. The glitter suddenly reminded her of her own last minute addition. "Oh I got party hats!"

She delved into her bag and grabbed the brightly coloured cones with a smile. She placed a green one on her own head then pushed a purple one down onto Sirius's unruly mane.

"Hey watch it!" he complained. She just smiled at him and passed out the remaining hats to the other boys, all of whom glanced at each other in trepidation before donning them as well, realising it would be much simpler just to wear them than annoy Lily.

As Avery straightened his new yellow headgear at his watchpost near the door, he spotted Abi limping slightly down the corridor towards the library accompanied by a slightly familiar looking Gryffindor student. "She's coming!" he hissed. "And there's someone with her."

Lily ran to peer out of the window and she gasped in surprise, her green eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "It's Remus Lupin!"

Snape's mouth set in a thin line until his lips had almost disappeared and he pulled off his party hat. Regulus glared at him.

"Put it back on," he insisted coldly taking a step forwards. His anger toward the older boy had been building inside him for weeks and now it threatened to finally erupt. Silence fell among the group as Snape slammed the hat down on the desk and made for the door.

* * *

><p>Abi was still uncomfortable with any actual physical contact she shared with Remus despite how attentive, for want of a better word, he had been in St Mungo's. His right hand was holding her left elbow gently as they walked in silence towards the library, her usual place of refuge with the others at this time. She winced as they passed a couple of Slytherin girls in her year who immediately started whispering to each other as they watched them go. Well, that was the rumour mill started now. Mustering a smile, she looked up at him.<p>

"I can manage myself, Remus. I promise not to collapse on you."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't mind."

"I'm sure," she said as they arrived outside the library. She paused, unsure whether he was going to follow her in or whether she should say goodbye. He seemed to be having a similar dilemma.

"You've probably got a lot of homework to catch up on," she said politely and he nodded. "I'll see you later then."

He echoed the farewell and headed back down the corridor. Abi watched him until he disappeared from sight then pushed the door open. Her mouth fell open at the chaos inside. "What the hell..."

Sirius grinned at her and bounded over to stick a red hat on her head. "Welcome back to madness!"

Regulus had Snape on the floor, both yelling insults at each other and trying to land as many punches as possible while Lily and the librarian tried to pull them apart, the latter screeching loud enough Abi was surprised the glass wasn't rattling in the windows. Avery stood to the side of the overturned table, yelling encouragement while glitter shot out of a torn-in-half banner above his head and landed in his hair and on his shoulders.

"Like magical dandruff..." she said to herself, then creased up laughing. It was good to be back to normal.

* * *

><p>Remus ducked through the portrait hole into the familiar red and gold common room and spotted Pettigrew sitting by himself, seemingly doing nothing. No change there then, he thought to himself as he walked over to the other boy. It was reassuring to know at least one thing had remained the same throughout this whole mess.<p>

"James is off somewhere with MacKinnon, I don't know where Reg is," Peter said in answer to the unspoken question. He was holding a large stack of Chocolate Frog cards and started to shuffle them, before drawing one out of the pile at random. Seemingly unhappy with his choice, he sighed and stuck the card back into the pile before re-shuffling. Remus watched the strange ritual for a few minutes before stretching and standing up.

"Think I'll have an early night," he muttered. "See you."

Peter grunted in response. As Remus made to go up the stairs, he looked back to see Peter slamming another card down on the table in apparent frustration. The blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore sparkled up at him from the table. Frowning, Remus shrugged it off and headed off.

* * *

><p>The next day, the smell of food wafting down the corridors from the Great Hall drew Regulus toward it like a magnet, his stomach grumbled loudly just in case he wasn't totally aware of how hungry he was. His eyes scanned the corridor ahead nervously, on the lookout for three certain Gryffindors he'd managed to avoid since the accident. Too intent on looking for the red and gold tie, he missed the silver and green one that stopped right in front of him. He jumped and stopped in his tracks abruptly to avoid running into her. She looked down her nose at him suspiciously.<p>

"I know your secret, Featherwing," she said crossing her arms. "Why didn't you tell any of us you'd become an animagus?"

"Ssh!" he hissed. Looking around at the stream of students still trickling steadily into the Hall he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in the opposite direction towards the deserted Charms classroom. "How did you find out?"

She snorted. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, Reg. Remus let slip that his friends call him Moony. Lily and I both know you've been spending a lot of time with Potter recently, and that was no ordinary owl down at the Shack. Add that all together and the fact that you were the ones to "find" us that night and you can see how I came to the conclusion."

Regulus stared at her for several moments, trying wildly to think of anything to say that could change her mind until her eyes softened and she pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you," she said, pulling away again. Regulus could see tears brimming in her eyes and he looked away uncomfortably, being unused to dealing with emotional displays.

"Your welcome," he replied gruffly. "But I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Doesn't matter," she said with a shrug. "I can just ask Remus."

He tilted his head slightly to the side and frowned. "You and Remus are spending a lot of time together."

She sat down on one of the empty tables. "Is there a problem with that? You spend a lot of time with him too. At least I don't hide it."

"I don't spend time with him in the way you spend time with him though," he replied, raising his eyebrows and for a split second, he looked exactly like Sirius. Carefully, he tried to put into words what the others had been whispering about since she'd gotten back. "It's a bit strange… considering what happened."

"Considering he's the only other one of my kind at Hogwarts, I don't think so," Abi replied defensively. "And besides, none of that was his fault and you know it, Regulus Black."

"I'm just saying…" he said holding up his hands in surrender. "Now if you're quite finished interrogating me, I'm going for dinner."

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><p><strong>Not sure when the next chapter will be up, got exams then I'm staying in an area with no internet connection, then it's Christmas... so we'll see :) I stuck another poll regarding this story up on my profile page, if you could take a look I'd appreciate it!<strong>


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